Who owns KIST?
KIST is owned by Cargills (Sri Lanka, CSE: CARG.N0000), which has owned the brand since 2002.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Cargills (Ceylon) PLC Integrated Annual Report 2025/26. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Cargills (Ceylon) PLC reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka, Colombo
- Origin
- 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- Category
- Beverages › Soft drinks › Juice & juice drinks
- Parent ticker
- CSE: CARG.N0000
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About KIST
KIST was a maker of jams, cordials and sauces when Cargills bought the brand in 2002. The turnaround came from fruit nectars made with fruit grown in Sri Lanka, a category the company entered shortly after the acquisition and which turned KIST into the country's leading fruit-based beverage brand; energy drinks and carbonated drinks were added later. Its pure fruit juice range was relaunched with new packaging in the year to March 2026, and the brand still leads the sauces category. Much of the fruit is processed at a plant opened in Kilinochchi in 2013 to rebuild the northern agricultural economy after the war.
Ownership timeline of KIST
Where KIST sits in Cargills
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Cargills ownership tree →
See the full Cargills brand portfolio (9) →
Other brands owned by Cargills
Cargills controls 9 brands on Brandtree, 2 of them in beverages.
Also in beverages
Other brands in juice & juice drinks, and who owns them
The 142 brands in juice & juice drinks on Brandtree belong to 84 owners. The largest is Eckes-Granini, with 11.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Brämhults | Eckes-Granini | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Apple & Eve | Lassonde | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Appletiser | Coca-Cola | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Kagome Tomato Juice | Kagome | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Fructal | Nectar Group | 🇷🇸 Serbia |
| All Coco | Sappe | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| Amayu | AJE | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| Kiddy Pack | Kasapreko | 🇬🇭 Ghana |
About the owner: Cargills
Cargills is a publicly listed company headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded in 1844. Brandtree records 9 brands under its control, and it is listed as CSE: CARG.N0000.
Cargills is Sri Lanka's largest food company, which began in 1844 as a general warehouse, import and wholesale business and until 1983 ran only four upmarket department stores. It now spans supermarkets, dairy, beverages, processed meats, confectionery and restaurants, and reported group revenue of Rs. 272.7 billion and profit after tax of Rs. 10.8 billion for the year ended 31 March 2026. Its distinguishing feature is the agricultural supply chain it built after 1999, buying fruit and vegetables directly from smallholders through collection centres rather than through middlemen, which makes it the single largest collector of produce in the country.
🇱🇰 KIST and other Sri Lankan brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 60 brands that began in Sri Lanka. 1 of them (2%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; KIST is not one of them.
- Bison — DCSL 🇱🇰
- Elephant House — Ceylon Cold Stores 🇱🇰
- Lion Lager — Lion Brewery 🇱🇰
- My Juicee — Lanka Milk Foods 🇱🇰
- Ran Kahata — Sunshine Holdings 🇱🇰
- Atlas — Hemas 🇱🇰
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of KIST?
The parent company of KIST is Cargills, a publicly listed company headquartered in Sri Lanka.
Is KIST Sri Lankan?
Yes. KIST originated in Sri Lanka and its owner, Cargills, is also headquartered in Sri Lanka.
Since when has Cargills owned KIST?
Cargills has owned KIST since 2002.
Is KIST still owned by Cargills?
Yes. As of 23 September 2026, KIST is still owned by Cargills. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Cargills (Ceylon) PLC Integrated Annual Report 2025/26 — Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, Annual report; retrieved 23 September 2026.
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